


Illusions

by CsillaDream



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Assassin!AU, Assassination, Bromance, Coincidences, Comfort/Angst, Corruption, Fate, Guilt, Info brokers, M/M, Regrets, Romance, Secret Organizations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-02
Updated: 2014-11-02
Packaged: 2018-02-23 15:14:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 21,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2552204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CsillaDream/pseuds/CsillaDream
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Its amazing what can tie you down to a certain fate; whether it be something as heavy as a choice deciding your career and lifestyle for the rest of your days or as light as a few coins presented as change in a transaction / What if life as you knew it had secrets - secrets of an organization fighting to take down criminals and corrupt people with power behind closed doors?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One:** Same Old, Same Old - Gray Fullbuster

* * *

Its amazing what can tie you down to a certain fate; whether it be something as heavy as a choice deciding your career and lifestyle for the rest of your days or as light as a few coins presented as change in a transaction. Living a life he had grown accustom to, Gray Fullbuster dragged himself away from the warmth of his bed and into the cold, groggy morning air that filled his bedroom like it always did. Today he mentally noted would, of course, be like the rest before it: simple and clean. The daily routine began with a shower to wash away the sleep from his body; a small breakfast consisting of a granola bar and a cup of instant coffee; working at his 'nine to five' office job and finally coming home for dinner and sleep. The process never changed except for the few times a month, he would stop by the grocery store to restock his shelves, fridge and freezer. Yes, anyone watching would likely to say that Gray lived a very boring life but it was the simplicity of it that made the raven-haired male content with his situation.

Leaving his small apartment, it dawned on the young office worker that tonight he would need to buy groceries on his way home from work. As usual, the drive to work was quiet and uninterrupted; a quick scan down to the glowing dull-green digits reading '5:47' re-enforced his thought that once again he would be early for work. Even if he tried to stay a little later, it would be pointless. Gray had nothing but work in his life and like every person that ever worked in a job with neither distasteful or glee emotions attached to it, he wondered. Wondered if he could ever be doing anything else - anything that made him feel more alive. Those thoughts always died within the very minute they arrived; the raven had a decent-paying job with co-workers that were tolerable, a house big enough for him, and no girl pregnant. Why change a decent lifestyle?

"Hey Gray, did you catch that game last night?" One of his co-workers poked their head through the opening of his cubicle with a cheery grin that Gray's face had long since tossed aside.

"No, sorry... I actually fell asleep shortly after I got home last night," The raven lied with a fake smile as he turned in his seat to look up at the brunette male who had a habit of attempting to converse with him.

"Aww, well make sure you don't miss the next one, okay? Its Tokyo against Osaka," And like that, his co-worker disappeared again; likely heading back to his own cubicle.

Five o'clock rolled around awfully quickly, which meant that instead of working over-time Gray would have to head to the grocery store that he normally passed on his way to and from work. After being greeted by a few of the sale associates on the floor, the raven went straight to picking up his usual cart-full of groceries: milk, bread, butter, TV dinners, boneless chicken, and sliced ham. Once a month, he would add: toilet paper, dish soap and sponges - today would not be one of those days. Only essentials. Letting his feet take him in the same routine he always took, Gray found himself at the check-out line in under half a hour.

"That'll be $36.53, sir" The teen behind the register said after scanning the raven's items with a polite smile.

Pulling two twenties out of his wallet, Gray swiftly handed the bills before beginning to put the bagged groceries into his cart. Listening as the teen counted out his change and turned his head right as the other extended the bills and coins towards him: "And $3.47 is your change~ Have a nice day,"

With groceries bought and paid for, Gray slipped back into his usual routine by heading straight home to watch TV and eat dinner. As the hours passed and the sun set the only thing left was heading to bed; the raven snaked a hand into the pocket of his slacks to pull out the change he had received from the cashier. He immediately placed the bills into his wallet then walked over to his dresser to the small plastic cup filled with other coins. Gray dropped the coins in the cup-

* * *

**Gray's P.O.V.**

Thinking back on it, I never really gave it much thought but when those coins hit the others in the cup - I admit that something was off about the noise back then. A noise heavier than the rest, which as I soon learned would shred my previous fate to pieces then make and seal a new fate entirely.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two:** Young and Bold: Natsu Dragneel

* * *

Everything in life came with a price and why shouldn't it? Being an orphan when he was younger, Natsu quickly learned the price of being without a family. The rosette male was constantly on the run from someone chasing him for stealing something for someone else - running from criminals to help a criminal. Same chaotic routine, if it should even be called that. By the time Natsu was 13, he had an extensive rap sheet ranging in: petty theft down to attempted murder.

Two years later while on a simple theft operation, he was hit over the head with the base of a handgun and lost consciousness when he awoke he found himself in a hospital. A hospital that a no-good low-life like him could only dream of being brought into; from the bed he could see two men talking with the doctor near his room. The elderly man glanced over in his direction as if sensing the rosette's gaze on him; the two men entered his room while the doctor walked in the opposite direction, likely going to check on other patients.

"Dragneel Natsu. Age 15... You've got quite the rap sheet for someone so young," The elderly man spoke earning a sneer from the bandaged teen.

"Feh, its the price I pay for being an orphan," The rosette scoffed as his eyes hardened just like they always did around others.

"No, its not... It the price you paid for being used instead of protected," Cobalt eyes widened at the old man's comment as something seemed to break inside of him - what it was, he had no idea at the time...

"Natsu, the way things are: you'll go to jail until you're 21 once the doctors give the 'okay'-"

"And what the hell does that have anything to do with you two?" Natsu barked, successfully cutting off the other man's statement.

The time the elderly man spoke up: "You have an interesting set of skills, my boy. How would you like to have your rap sheet erased completely, never being used again and to help make sure no one has to have a childhood like you?"

The man's proposal hit a nerve deep inside the young teen, who merely asked: "What's the price for something like that?"

"You die," Cobalt eyes nearly slipped from their sockets but the elderly man continuation put him into deep thought: "Natsu Dragneel, the 15-year-old criminal will die and Natsu Dragneel, the new addition to our organization will be born..."

"I see... so basically my life has to come to an end so I can protect other orphans, is that right? So what does my 'skill set' as you called it have anything to do with that?" The question came out more of a hoarse whisper than anything else but still held the emotional baggage he wanted it to.

"There are too many corrupt people taking advantage of good people... We want to 'take care' of them so we can protect others from suffering. We all have been taken advantage of in the worse ways possible,"

A hollow laugh slipped from Natsu's lip: "I guess you have a new addition then,"

Five years had passed since Gramps, the elderly man, and Gildarts had recruited him into their organization; his skills with fighting with various traditional weapons had greatly improved and he had even picking up martial arts moves from Loki, his first friend and fellow comrade. Loki had been traded around as a sex slave when he was a child and up until his teenage years when he was rescued by Natsu and a few other organization members. Natsu had offered him a chance to possible save other people in his situation; although he had been greatly lectured on doing so, Loki had passed the test for being allowed to join.

After Loki's induction into the group, the rosette followed the rules more closely to avoid being given an earful by not only Gramps but the other higher-ups as well. Walking down the corridors of the second floor, he walks past the large staircase leading to the first floor, through the room where jobs are posted, through the dark room where debriefing is done for larger groups, down another short hallway before Natsu knocks softly on a light oak door. The door clicked, signalling it was okay to enter; poking his rosy head into the room, he glanced around until he saw the girl he was looking for: "Levi, were you able to get the needed info?"

Levi McGarden worked as an info broker for the organization - she and Lucy Heartfilia, another info broker live just beyond the two roomful of books and computers. The petite teen took off her glasses before pinching the bridge of her nose as she sighed, "Yeah... I pulled an all-nighter just to be sure I got it all," then picked up a stack of documents.

"Lapointe, the CEO of Zentopia Medical Insurance has made quite a splash in giving insurance to the poor... Sounds great, right? Not in the slightest. There's a court date set in one month taking ruling over whether Macao Conbolt, a father just barely making the monthly payments should deserve an operation that could save his life-"

"What's wrong with him?" It wasn't until the word 'father' was heard that a personal interest was taken in the job he had grabbed at the beginning of the week.

"He has cancer and unfortunately I can't get anything further information because breaking into a hospital's records are illegal," A light smile spread across Levi's features at the small joke.

"Go on," He instructed her, which she gladly did: "Anyways, I may not have been able to get much information on Macao but I'm sure you're interested to hear that he has a son... About 12 who, if the court rules in favor of Lapointe, will become an orphan shortly after..."

"I need you to get me into the gala he's hosting this weekend and his home address, just in case" Natsu grinned, feeling giddy; he would always admit that the best part of his life nowadays was helping a family out - nothing else could even compare to keeping a child from experiencing the same pain he did growing up.

"And what makes you so damn sure I can get you into a CEO's party that's tonight?"

"Because you're an angel, Levi~"

"And don't forget it, now take me along so you don't make a fool out of yourself in case someone talks to you~" Levi smirked; they both knew he'd have no problem taking her along and hell, she deserved some field work every now and then.

"Of course. Be ready by 4 or I'm leaving without you,"

Once that was settled all that was left was some time to wind-down with Loki and catch up on things until it was time to head out. Loki had mentioned earlier in the week that he was going to ask Lucy out; it was amazing despite the horrible events every one of them had gone through it wasn't long before they were all acting like normal teens would. As three o'clock rolled around, the rosette had to end his conversation with Loki about various things so he could prepare for the mission tonight. Strolling down the stairwell, the teen turned left at the bottom entering a long corridor, which would lead him to the stock of weapons and ammo.

"The usual secondary order, please" Natsu, like many in the organization, had two sets of orders he always requested; his secondary for surveillance (with a possibility of needing force) and his primary for everything else.

"Surveillance, huh? Good luck, Natsu" The girl behind the counter smiled warmly at him as she disappeared around the corner behind her and re-appeared with his order that she carefully placed on the marble counter top.

Next on his to-do list was getting changed; the gala was a black-tie event meaning he would have to take a hot shower in order to stand a chance of taming his wild rose-colored locks underneath a sleek black wig, which he would have to brush out to avoid his act from being seen through.

"Alright, now the accent..." he muttered, standing in front of the mirror wearing only a towel around his waist and a black wig he used for formal surveillance.

" _How are you today, sir?_ " A content smile at his English-speaking skills; he had noticed that English-speaking guest were often highly liked by the female guest so having an alibi always worked in his favor.

"Natsu, you ready?" Levi's voice filled his room making him chuckle as he replied: "Yeah, just let me get some clothes on"

No surprise that she was ready early - she hasn't been out on a mission with anyone in a while; Gajeel, her rumored-boyfriend, had been sent out on a mission months ago and hadn't returned. Skillfully slipping his arms into the sleeves of his white button-up, he slipped on his pants with just as much skill before grabbing his tie and jacket then heading out. As he walked down the staircase right outside his bedroom, he buttoned up his shirt before noticing Levi waiting at the bottom wearing a soft white evening gown with slight beading and ruffle at the top along with slip-on matching heels.

Upon seeing her comrade make his final descent, she smiled before holding out her hand; Natsu chuckled again, handing her his tie before asking if his wig looked alright. The petite info broker worked her magic with his tie as she spoke: "Yes, it looks great~ There all done,"

**At the Zentopia Gala**

" _Ah, Mister Lapointe, I presume_ " Natsu's English was well-received by the host, who immediately greeted him back: " _An American, and who might you be_?"

" _Doctor Alex Cross_ "

"Alex Cross, hn" Glancing over at his bodyguard as if to signal him to check the list of guest; sure enough the man beside him nodded his head and their conversation continued: " _Well, I never expected an American doctor to come to one of my galas. What brings you here?_ "

" _I heard about your insurance and came as a representative of the hospital I work for,_ " Natsu flashed the man a smile before giving a short bow, " _Of course I apologize for talking of business at an event such as this... is there some way we can discuss this at a later time?_ "

Waving two fingers to his bodyguard, he whispered words assume the other would not understand, "Give this man my business card and then I'll be a step closer to playing god over health insurance,"

A fake oblivious smile was all the undercover rosette could do to keep his cover as the CEO's bodyguard handed him a thick piece of paper before thanking them both and walking away to presumably flirt with a group of girls. With his back turned, he spoke softly so only his microphone could pick it up (and essentially the person on the same frequency): "Did you get all that, Levi? He seems pretty confident about playing god with people's lives,"

"So it seems," a short pause in her response before she talking, "So are you making your move?" She was trained to be able to fit her responses with her comrades within a separate conversation with a guest.

"You bet," Natsu spent much of the gala talking to random guest, careful not to draw attention to himself in doing so.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:** Breaking-In

* * *

Tossing his jacket into his car before rolling up his sleeves, Natsu shut the car door as Levi sat inside the interior with her laptop displaying the blueprints of the mansion they were parked down the street from. The rosette, already removed the wig, ran a tan hand through his hair in an attempt to bring life to held-back locks.

"Ready Levi?" He whispered with adrenaline rushing through his body as he backtracked towards the building where intel stated Lapointe resided as his comrade gave him a confident 'mhm'.

"Heh, seven guards... Taking my notice a little lightly, isn't he?" Cobalt eyes watched from a spot blanketed in shadow before dashing away to avoid detection from several guards with flashlights.

"Don't get cocky-just get the job done quickly," He rolled his eyes at the wariness in her voice; he knew he could be a little cocky especially when his notice wasn't being taken seriously by his opponent but that trait developed when he successfully completed a mission that had too much security. Thank god for paranoia!

Getting inside was no problem with Levi in his ear telling him, which room would help him accomplish his mission without much of a gun fight; he only had his personal handgun and two magazine clips - if a fight broke out, he'd be at a serious disadvantage. He grabbed his gun from its holster on his leg before whispering, "Where to?"

"Exit the room - the living room is your first left," Her words signaled him to start; Natsu made his way silently across the room he entered, which he deduced from what little he could make out was a sort of personal room for Lapointe.

Slowly turning the doorknob, Natsu's fingers prepared for the worse as he glanced into the next room - no guards and with a soft 'tch' he entered the new room just as quietly. The new room was nicely lighted, bookcases adorning the walls that were painted a deep maroon color; it caused the rosette to make a mental note about doing something for Levi's workplace - the bare white walls can't be exactly the best work environment.

"ne Levi, how'd you like to have your work area's walls painted?" He whispered as he peeked out the archway, which lead to a long corridor with one guard patrolling.

Cobalt eyes watched until the guard turned his back on him before dashing towards him and slamming his gun into the back of the man's head with enough force to knock him out. While he dragged the man into the nearby bathroom on his right, he listened as Levi spoke of Gajeel often suggesting she change the colors of that room before mentioning if it was painted she'd imagine it to look like a library from a rich person's home.

Cracking a smile he whispered again, "Don't worry once Gajeel is back, we'll all pitch in and help you girls... I know Lucy wouldn't mind the change," before taking a peek into the room on his left.

With his gun ready Natsu noted three guards in, what he assumed after being in so many other mansion, the waiting room for guest; a grin that might have seemed a little out-of-place stretched itself onto his face as he would have to act fast and time it right. Eyeing the guard at the far right end of the room, he timed his next move for the next moment he stepped out once more. At the very second he exited the room, the rosette raced over to the guard closest to him and repeated his earlier actions before dragging the limp body out into the hallway. Once there it wasn't long before he heard voices asking about the mission guard coming towards him; he headed partway down a nearby hallway and slipped into an unoccupied room right before the other two guards left the waiting room to find their friend slumped over on the floor.

"Call for back-up," As one turned his back on the other to do as he was told, Natsu dashed out and hit the man remaining with the butt of his gun before going after the next. When all three were down and out for the count, Natsu whispered for Levi to give him more directions.

"The room to the far-left is the master bedroom, if he's like every other corrupt asshole out there, he'd be where his safe is" Natsu chuckled after hearing her words; he was quick to the far-left room but slow enough to dodge a warning bullet that shot out from inside the next room.

"I don't know who you are but you're not taking me down!" Lapointe's voice was heard from the rosette's left, which only widened his grin to an abnormal size; adrenaline racing dangerously through his veins he took a quick peek to see a guard standing on one side of the room in the perfect spot to shoot.

The man went down, clutching his side; not missing a beat, Natsu stepped into the room with his gun pointed at Lapointe who was shakily holding a semi-automatic pistol. His cobalt eyes hardened as he stared down the corrupt man, who seemed content with forcing a child to grow up without a father and likely on the streets. Ignoring the nagging feeling in his gut, he drew his mouth into a thin line before beginning, "Lapointe, you're a corrupt man... You hide behind lies of helping the less-fortunate with your insurance and aim to play god over other's lives... You're a despicable-"

A gunshot resonated off the wall as cobalt eyes widened in surprise while pain burst throughout his body; he could heard Levi's voice in his ear filled with worry and before he could decide his next move, he found himself jumping through a nearby window. He raced as far as his feet could take his pain-riddled body while ordering Levi back to the house.

"But Natsu-"

"That's an order... Levi, I  **will**  meet you back there... I promise," No further argument came out of the petite girl's mouth; he took out his ear piece and stuffed it into his pocket.

Natsu needed to get as far away as he could from that mansion; he stumbled from street to street as his vision grew cloudier and cloudier - it wasn't long before he was dragging himself to rest in front of some random small SUV. He lifted a hand to inspect but it fell back down onto the ground in defeat and then everything went dark.

* * *

**Natsu P.O.V:**

I knew back then that it was all too easy...

Gajeel was one of the best we had and taking down Lapointe was his mission originally...

Something had to have happened for that corrupt bastard to get a shot on me like that... I hadn't even sensed the other shooter until it was too late...


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:** Fateful Encounter

* * *

Blurry scenery filled his vision as the sunlight pierced his eyelids, making them open in curiosity; his mind began wondering where he was until his body bolted upright, forcing his eyes to focus as he took in his surroundings. A bedroom, which likely belonged to a single male in his 40's with a boring job, adorned in navy blue curtains along with a single desk and dresser. Pain spiked his senses as the injury from last night came rushing back as if on reflex, he reached for his gun but to no avail and it was then he noticed something. He wasn't wearing his shirt anymore and his torso up to his shoulder was wrapped securely with gauze bandage; now where was his gun?

"Looking for something?" A voice caused muscles to tense under its tanned cover while cobalt eyes hardened as he glared at the source: a male, his age walking into the room before stopping in front of the bed where Natsu sat tensed up before holding out meekly.

The rosette snatched it away from the raven-haired male before him; adding onto his deduction that the 40-something had a child or something. Something about the other seemed to make him relax: "Sorry, just forget you saw me," he apologized as he forced himself to get up despite the pain bouncing around in his body.

"A little hard to do that when I find you passed out in front of my car with a bleeding from your stomach," The raven's retort rubbed him the wrong way as it came out; Natsu slammed the other against the wall threatening if he didn't he'd kill him before walking off but something caught his eye.

If it wasn't for last night, he might have ignored the tinge of familiarity of something so small; he stopped by the dresser staring down at the cup of coins. Staring down at the pieces of silver ranging from quarters to nickels. Staring at the piece of silver that resembled a nickel but wasn't...

"Where did you get this?" He reached inside and removed the piece, recognizing instantly the insignia embossed on the coin.

"Get what?" stepping closer to get a better look before replying, "Oh, I got it as change in transaction... probably from my recent-OOPH!" His words were cut off when Natsu slammed him against the wall again.

"Who are you?" The snarl that ripped the rosette's lips as anger rushed around in his body; the coin belonged to his comrade whose been missing for a month, to the person Levi has been waiting for, Gajeel Redfox.

"Shouldn't I be," another thrust of his forearm against the pale throat, "Alright... alright, my name is Gray Fullbuster..." The other introduced himself as the rosette released him.

The raven moved away from him but not fast enough to avoid being knocked unconscious by a hit to the back of the head; cobalt eyes watched as the limp body fell onto the bed. Taking a few items from around the house, Natsu bound and gagged the raven male before tossing him over his shoulder then carrying him out. Carefully placing him in the backseat of the car, the rosette hot-wired the car before driving away heading for the nearest recognizable landmark before heading back to the organization house.

"NATSU!" Levi and Loki raced out of the house to greet their bandaged friend upon pulling up the vast European-style house in the black Honda Civic.

"I'm fine, Levi... Relax," Natsu chuckled at the teary-eyed girl.

"Erm... Natsu? Whose that?" Loki's questions drew his attention to the now-conscious hostage in the backseat.

"Long story, help me get him inside - into the interrogation room,"

Together they were able to get Gray past anyone who might be watching their actions and into the room on their left upon entering the house. The room was dimly-lit with nothing but the people inside to add color or variation to the room; Loki stood behind his friend against a wall and watch as a mediator just in case. Natsu tore the gag from the raven's mouth, who immediately sobbed: "Look, I don't know who you are... Just please don't kill me,"

Removing the blindfold, the rosette sighed: "I ain't gonna kill you..."

Onyx eyes widened in surprise as he asked: "Then why-" but was cut off by Loki who answered the obvious question, "We only wish to talk to you, isn't that right Natsu?"

"...yeah," The short pause set the young raven on edge just a little; all he had really done was treat a guy who was bleeding out and this is the thanks he gets for not calling a hospital and instead treating it himself.

"Gray, wasn't it? This coin," holding it out so the raven could see, "where did you get it again?" Natsu's voice was strained as if trying to hold back the urge to beat the answers out of the poor raven.

"I told you... I probably got it from my last trip to the grocery store," His eyes had grown accustom to his dim surroundings to tell that there wasn't anything in the room but the three of them.

"When was that?"

"A few days ago... why?"

"Natsu, are you sure you know what you're doing?" Loki's question broke their conversation rhythm; the rosette glanced back before grounding out: "Because this is Gajeel's coin,"

"You don't know that, Natsu... We all got the same coin upon entering... it could anyone's"

"But Gajeel is the only one missing, dammit!" Natsu roared, clenching his hands into tight fist while Gray watched a little fearful of his own safety from the floor.

"What were you thinking bringing him here anyway?" Changing the topic, Loki seemed to give the vibe they would talk about Gajeel later - a vibe that his friend felt loud and clear.

"I'unno," The atmosphere in the room changed drastically as Natsu scratched his chin displaying a childish expression that resembled clueless to the now-confused raven, still sitting on the floor.

"Gramps... is gonna really let you have it..." Loki sighed in defeat; he may owe his life to his comrade but he could be a bit of an idiot sometimes.

"Oh shit," his body went ridged as he shakily glanced back, "you're right," his voice echoed like a ghost off the walls.

Gray, growing tired with the way things were going, growled up at his captor: "Oi! Are you gonna let me go or not?" earning two sets of deadpanned expressions from the other that only made him more on edge.

The door to his left opened making both Natsu and Loki jump back in surprise as 'Gramps' walked in with a stern expression on his face while speaking as if answering the raven's question: "Now that you are here, you cannot leave like you came..."

"You can't be serious," He ignored the pale-faced reactions he got from the other teens as he retorted, thinking about his job; Gray had already taken one day off because of the rosette's limp body.

"What's your name, my boy?" The old man asked, walking closer to the bounded teen.

"Gray Fullbuster..."

"Levi, would be a dear and give me as much info as you can in five minutes,"

"Of course," Levi's form could be heard rushing up the wooden steps and the next five minutes was the longest five minutes the raven ever experienced before.

Gramps glanced back just as Levi rounded the corner with a small stack of paper; she handed the elder man the stack, who went straight into summarizing its content: "Gray Fullbuster... Age 21... Office worker at Legion Corporation... not bad... no record... it says you attended Marvell Medical College... and that you worked for their hospital for a few years... so how come you're not a doctor anymore?"

"N-no r-reason," His quick response made his voice quiver, only proving there was more to the story that what was previously stated.

"Oh really," leafing through the next few pages until he stopped and spoke again: "So tell me what went wrong during Daichi Shinagawa's operation?"

Onyx eyes widened as his head sunk down before muttering, "n... nothing... I did everything by the book," looking up to stare hard up at the old man, "I double-checked with his other doctors about the medicine he had been on, if he had any other medical conditions... everything I did everything right but he... he still died a week later,"

"I read about the incident... a brilliant surgeon ripped apart and only on further investigation did I notice something wasn't matching up," The man knelt down behind Gray and untied the cloth wrapped securely around the wrist.

A hollow laugh, "So what are you saying...?"

"I'm saying I'm offering you a choice to join my organization to take down corrupt people, to indulge in chaos, and most of all: saving lives from doctors who could careless..."

Gray undid the cloth around his ankles muttering, "I can't just leave my job behind..."

"You can't stand here and tell me you actually enjoy working the same boring never-changing job, or can you?"

The raven stayed silent for a moment before muttering about needing time to think; walking out of the room, he caught the part about Natsu being ordered to go with him. Onyx eyes glanced over his shoulder at the irritated tan male walking up to him, "So where can I go to get some air?" he asked, having no intention of doing something stupid.

"Yeah, follow me..." The duo walked further into the house, making a right into the kitchen and dining room that appeared to be able to seat 20+ people at once.

"Whoa..." His thoughts voiced out loud that caused his companion to chuckle, "Yeah... its pretty impressive when we have everyone in here,"

Pointing to a sliding glass door to their left: "Here's the most peaceful place for thinking, in my opinion," Natsu spoke before leading the other outside; Gray had to admit, it was quite an impressive view.

The landscape was nicely framed with trees that were beautiful blossomed flowers; the grass was just the right length to appear like a feather-light blanket - the scenery was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

"Natsu, right?" A short nod from his companion, "What made you join this?" Nothing but the soft whisper of the wind for a while then Gray added, "Nha, forget it... I didn't mean to pry,"

"I was an orphan... Raised to run errands for criminals, which usually meant stealing from other criminals... by the time I was 15, I had a rap sheet as thick as a normal 35-year-old criminal... Gramps saved me from all that..." Natsu's voice was velvet soft, giving the raven the impression he wasn't happy talking about the subject but had already moved past that point in his life.

Soft whispering of the wind and the warm glow of the sun then a light sigh, "If it'll give me life, I'll do it..."

"You won't regret it,"


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:** A New Beginning

* * *

A week had passed since Gray ended his old life as an office worker and began his new life as a member of the organization; oddly enough, no part of him missed his previous life. Gramps had explained that for one month he had to share a room with one member until he could be trusted - a condition he accepted considering he had nothing else to lose.

"You ready?" Natsu poked his head out from the adjourning bathroom; the person who he ended up sharing with was the very same person who threatened his life only a week ago.

Surprisingly, the two got along almost too well that Lucy would often joke they should just marry one another; this comment always pushed both males into stuttering fits from the embarrassment. Wearing a black sleeveless t-shirt and loose grey sweatpants, Gray slipped on his sneakers before attempting to rub the sleep from his eyes - for the past week, he had been training in hand-to-hand combat every morning and various weapons in the evening nonstop. Tonight he'd get his first lesson with shooting a gun; oddly enough, there was a part of him that felt a little excited by the thought...

"C'mon before the girls start cooking breakfast," Natsu, wearing a plain ruby-red sleeveless t-shirt and black baggy sweatpants, groaned as he stretched his arms over his head while heading out of their shared bedroom.

Gray quickly followed after him down the staircase then through the kitchen and adjourning dining room before exiting the warm, sleepy environment; the morning air felt damp against his skin as the duo took a spot on the far end of the back deck to prevent breaking anything... again. Neither was looking forward to another earful from Gramps, then Gildarts... then Mirajane...

"Alright, how about we work on your blocks for the moment? This time I won't tell you nor go half-speed... Think you can keep up?" Natsu began, stretching his arms over his head before leaning to the right then the left.

As his arms dropped, pale arms had already stretched upwards before Gray copied his comrade's actions as he replied back, "Its not like anyone will tell me when I'm actually doing field work so I guess we'll see," with a confident smirk.

It wasn't often that the raven-haired individual would revert back to his previous emotional state so with each smirk or grin, Gray felt alive. Exhaling, the raven readied himself before his partner gave a short nod as a warning then ran at him with his hand balled tightly into a fist. Swinging for the head, the rosette was a little impressed when Gray blocked it but in a real fight that would not be enough so Natsu kicked his knee up, aimed for the other's stomach, which was narrowly blocked by his comrade's elbow. Natsu jumped away chuckling, "Not bad... guess I better step up my game,"

A pale fist swung out and decked the rosette's cheek as the raven sneered, "Then quit your talking,"

Jumping forward quickly, Natsu threw a jab at the cocky pale face before bringing his right elbow smacking Gray's cheek; swinging his right foot around so he was facing his comrade then grabbing a handful of black locks and a handful of the other's top. The rosette swung his knee up until he stopped a few centimeters from the raven's face; onyx eyes blinked as his body and mind caught up with the recent actions and before long heard a quiet: "Cockiness leaves you open to get hurt,"

Tanned hands released their hold on his comrade as Gray collapsed backwards with a heavy sigh, "Understood,"

The lesson progressed on until a motherly voice called out to them: "How about some breakfast?"

"Mira!" Both teens smiled over at the 'mother-hen' of the house, Mirajane Strauss; the raven had learned shortly after moving in about Mira's past - she was the oldest of three siblings, living in luxury that was one day taken from her in a horrible incident.

It wasn't long after they finished their breakfast that the house seemed to come alive; people ranging in all ages moved about the house - this was the best part of the day, in Gray's opinion. He always ended up meeting at least one new person...

Yesterday it was Romeo, a twelve-year-old child whose father was among the higher-ups in the organization; the raven was taken back that someone so young could be involved with them until he learned about their past - one which told the horrible story of a poverty-stricken family trying to take care of their son while pushing aside their own needs. It tore at the raven's heart when he saw the pained smile reflecting in the watery blue eyes as the child explained that the orange scarf he was wearing once belonged to his mother, who died in order to feed him.

"Hey, behave yourself while I'm gone..." Natsu sneered as he headed towards the info broker's offices, waving nonchalantly while leaving his companion to the organization members who had gathered in the lounge area.

Cracking a cocky smirk, without missing a beat, Gray replied: "Don't I always?"

"Gag! PDA, Gray! P-D-A," A chuckle behind him made the raven turn around in slight embarrassment as muttered out: "Quit it, Loki... Just 'cause Lucy won't let you get away with any-"

"SHUT UP, YOU TWO!" Natsu's yell echoed down the hall causing the two other males to laugh as they imagined the face the rosette had to be making at the moment.

When their laughter finally died down, the orange-haired male reminded his friend about their lesson tonight before going on his own mission, leaving Gray to wander the halls until he came to a stop outside a small library. He always found contentment inside the four walls covered in towering bookcases, filled with books ranging in a variety of information - Medical books were his favorite.

He cracked opened a book he started yesterday; he remembered most of the info the books provided but brushing up on what he had learned years ago in medical school can't hurt. Currently he was brushing up on arteries' locations, although occasionally he would pull his onyx eyes away from the massive amount of text to open his pocket knife (the only weapon he had been allowed thus far) then placed the blunt edge against the various arteries he had re-learned their locations before remembering the previous ones he had read about.

Hours flew by before the door to the library opened, onyx eyes didn't budge from the text they had fallen for until someone spoke: "Knew I'd find you here... you ready for lesson?" _Loki._


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Late Night Training**

* * *

 

"Alright, make sure to keep your arms slightly bent... don't want you to break anything," Loki reminded his raven student for the umpteenth time that night as Gray slowly cocked the gun while making sure he did have his arms bent enough.

Right before putting the final weight on the trigger he heard, "watch for the recoil," in his ear; the shot echoed off the walls loudly before onyx eyes narrowed again and emptied the magazine. Clapping drew the young adult's attention as he watched Loki press a button to bring his target for a closer look. The paper stopped in front of them as the orange-haired assassin pointed out the various points of impact, "Let's see... one to the forehead, not bad... another to the left ear, likely to only stun someone... three to the chest, good good... and it would seem like the other five never hit-Oh... wait, looks like one would have hit a thigh,"

"Tch... so then only four were good shots, huh?" The raven clicked his tongue; he had hoped he would have been able to aim a little better.

A soft pat on the shoulder relaxed the tense male as Loki sighed, "Don't stress on it too much... a lot of us had trouble getting it down," chuckling a little, "well... all but  _one_  had trouble at first" the emphasis aroused curiosity in his counterpart, "From what I was told... Natsu had little trouble picking up the art of shooting someone," _  
_

"You make it sound like I should be proud of it or something?" The sudden additional voice caused both males to jump slightly in response; Natsu stood in the doorway wearing only a pair of cargo pants and sneakers - curious onyx eyes flew straight to the gauze bandaging wrapped snugly around a tan torso.

"Shouldn't you be resting?" Cobalt eyes narrowed, staring down the orange-haired male before scoffing: "I just want to practice a little," then adding in a hush voice that Gray caught, "Wasn't able to shoot anyone today..." causing him to chuckle a little.

A hand rested on the raven's shoulder making Gray glance back in curiosity as Loki whispered in his ear: "See what he's doing... don't do it,"

As if taking the other's silence as a reason to continue on, the orange-haired assassin added a little louder while moving away, "Stressing out a wound especially gunshots can have a permanent effect... so listen to the medics we have here,"

"Or himself..." Natsu chimed in, without missing a beat.

"Oh yeah, you used to be a doctor!" A soft buzz directed everyone's attention as Loki reached into his jacket pocket before pulling out the plastic device: "Hello... Ah! Lucy~" a few moment then, "Yeah, I'll be right up... okay, see you in a bit then"

After a brief flick of his wrist, the orange-haired male left without another word leaving Gray to practice shooting by himself; reloading another magazine into the gun, pale ears picked up a snicker to his left. Curious eyes with a hint of irritation glanced over at the source: his rosette roommate setting his own gun down before walking over. Tan hands snatched the weapon away from pale limbs before speaking, "Now its great to do this slow and all... but," a few flicks on his hands, "in the field, the quicker and efficiently you do it the better..." handing the loaded gun back to the other.

"Then teach me how you just did that," The remark was meant to be spoken only mentally but the words flew out quicker than his brain could pull them away.

"Get all your shots in the head and heart region and I will," Natsu's words surprised the raven; his roommate wasn't one to really share techniques as he learned when training with blunt weapons.

Three magazines later, Gray still hadn't managed to aim a whole one in the two regions specified by the rosette; he was growing weary of his inability to get better and had forgotten he wasn't alone when he heard a sigh: "You're getting worse..."

Putting the gun down on the counter in front of him, the raven muttered: "Guess I should call it quits..." before heading out but right as he was about to open the door, a firm grip on his shirt dragged him back.

"Not so fast... let's do things my way," Natsu reloaded the gun one-handedly before handing it back to his companion, "Now shoot the target once,"

Gray did just that; tan hands came around both side of him as the rosette stood behind him - "imagine that its the person responsible for injuring that child and shoot," the deep voice entering his ears sent a tingle of electricity down his spine as he did his best to do what he was told. Imagining that the target was his former superior, he aimed the gun and pulled back on the trigger.

"And again," More shots echoed off the walls until the gun was empty; Gray stood amazed as the target was brought closer - three holes were in the target's face, two more in the neck, three towards the middle of the chest and two in the shoulders! All ten had hit this time!

Relief washed over the former doctor as a smile spread across his face and wanting to thank the other for the immense help, Gray turned to face him only to now realize the closeness between them. Warmth replaced the smile as he quickly turned away and simply muttering a quick 'thanks' instead.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven:** Gray's First Mission

* * *

"Wait, really?" Gray sat dumbfounded as he shifted his gaze between the piece of paper and the cobalt eyes staring him down.

Sighing from growing irritation of his comrade, the rosette muttered once more: "Like I keep saying, I think you're ready to take on a mission..."

"A-and the tar-target is..." His voice trailing off as his onyx lowered onto the large black print at the bottom of the page, "Purehito Hades, he's the politician that running for office right? Why is he a target?" The raven glanced up in curiosity.

A moment of silence then: "Dunno... Levi or Lucy should be able to tell us," Natsu shrugged his shoulders before heading over to the info brokers' office whilst motioning for the other to follow, which Gray did obediently.

"Hey, anyone here?!" The moment they entered the white-walled office, the rosette called out loudly in case either of the girls were in their bedrooms; both of them had insisted that it was better to have their office and bedrooms connected in case of all-nighters.

Stumbling out of a room to their right was the petite blue-haired girl Gray had met his first time here, Levi glared at the tanned male before biting out a response: "I swear if it wasn't for the fact that I love you like a little brother, I would have shot you many times for yelling like that,"

Flashing a wide grin that caught the raven off-guard and left staring until it disappeared, the petite girl sighed before walking over to the stack of papers on her desk, "Here," as she held them out towards them.

"I take it this is your first mission, Gray" She smiled warmly at him before continuing on: "Well, in case this idiot hasn't told you... I'll also be tagging along. You'll learn that on any mission you go on that someone from either the branches of the intelligence will tag along, though since the 'info-broker' branch I belong to doesn't have much physical training - we usually stay in a well-hidden location. The other branch specializes in infiltration and,"glaring at Natsu, "despite what  _he_  wishes to believe... he's not a part of it,"

"Hey... We both know I'm just as good as them," lowering his voice to a whisper, "...if not better," causing a small smile to soften the girl's features as she nodded her head in response: "I know, Natsu... and by the end of the month, Gray will too~"

Finally deciding to voice his question: "So then what branch of this crazy organization do you belong to?" onyx eyes glanced over to his roommate; he never figured there was more parts of the organization than those who gathered information and ...the killers?

"Reconnaissance... once your skills develop you'll be placed in a branch as well," At this point, another person chimed in that the raven instantly recognized as Lucy: "Although considering who has been training you, you'll likely be in recon with Natsu,"

"Who else is in this branch?" Gray spoke up.

Counting on her fingers, both girls began naming off members: "Let's see... there's Natsu, Ultear, Hibiki, Jenny, Eve, Gajeel..." at the mention of the last name, the raven immediately felt the atmosphere in the room grow heavy.

"W-was he the one who...?" Gray began with uncertainty that was absolved when he felt a firm grasp on his shoulder, Natsu slowly nodded his head: "Yeah, he's the one who disappeared... and whose coin you picked up..."

When the rosette mentioned the coin that began it all, he asked: "So what's the reason behind the coin?"

Lucy answered with a bright smile: "Its so that members never forget that they always have a home to come back to,"

"Speaking of which," reaching into her pocket before Levi held out her hand, "here you go, this is for you"

Onyx eyes watched as a piece of silver the size of a nickel fell onto the palm of his hand; opposed to the other coin that led him here, the silver piece in his hand clearly showed the kanji for home. A small smile spread across his face as he thanked the petite girl for the coin, who merely smiled back before the trio started debriefing on the target.

"So mister politician is undergoing heart surgery at the elite Grandeeney Medical Center tonight," Levi began as the both males' eyes scanned over the pages taking in as much info as they could.

Before either of them could speak, the info broker continued: "Despite all the smiles and heart-winning speeches he gives, Hades has a hand in the black market-"

"Black market, huh? Which sector?" Natsu interruption earned a very hard glare from her, who sighed before muttering: "Medical... Organs,"

Unsure what or even how to react appropriately, Gray was surprised when the rosette suddenly scoffed: "Lame... Don't wanna," before tossing the file on top of the stacks upon stacks of files on a nearby desk.

The next thing the raven knew, Natsu was nursing his head from a possible bump that would appear while Levi stood over him, angered holding a rolled up newspaper that seemed to have magically appeared; "I don't care if you think its lame, idiot! A mission is a mission and you two," switching her glare onto the innocent newcomer, "are gonna do it, ya hear?!"

"Yes," The rosette sniffled in defeat while Gray nodded his head in agreement; he hadn't expected the petite girl do a complete 180.

For the rest of the day, the rosette explained to him what is needed on a mission as the two were packing for theirs tonight: "Alright, now since you're new... we'll just do a quick checklist,"

Inhaling before his mouth began listing off things, leaving the raven little time to actually check: "Gun,"

"Check"

"Medical scrubs,"

"Check,"

"Knife,"

"Check," The list continued on as his partner listed even the smallest of things; when their stuff was ready, both changed into the scrubs they had 'borrowed' from the hospital their target was staying at. With his shirt still off, Gray waited as he felt Natsu behind him attaching his gun holster - his finger occasionally brushing against his skin burning each spot they touched. After the rosette was done, he could still feel residual heat at his lower back; pushing the feeling aside, all that was left was to head out with Levi on their tails carrying only a small bag. When they reached the garage where all the cars of the organization were parked - his own Honda parked with a new paint job to cover the mess Natsu had made when he was discovered bleeding. Deciding it was less conspicuous, Levi slid into the driver seat as the boys sat in the back; once they were on the road heading to the hospital, the petite info broker spoke: "There are transmitters in the bag," tossing the bag she had been carrying in the back, "make sure you put one in your ear so we can stay in touch at all times... and the other one is on the nametags I forged for you both... make sure you take the right one,"

Natsu handed over one of the badges as the raven handed over the other earpiece; flipping the nametag over he saw the word 'medical interims' in red letters. The thoughts of his failure came rushing back in a flood that would rival even Noah's Ark and just like back then, warmth stopped the dread as the rosette squeezed his shoulder comfortingly.

"Alright, here's the quick run-down," Levi began as she continued making her way down the darkening streets, "you two are medical interims who are simply checking in on patients... but your primary objective is the assassination of Purehito Hades, understand?" A sharp glare back forced a united 'understood' to slip out both males' mouths.

Pulling to a stop on a barely-lit street, both Natsu and Gray hurried out of the car the moment it stopped; the raven followed closely behind his comrade as they casually entered the hospital. Swiping their I.D. badges, they made it past security without any issues; adrenaline was pumping through Gray's system leaving him on a bit of a high - never before had Gray felt so light and free; his body felt unstoppable...

"Stop it" The two stood alone in a corridor wearing blue scrubs; Natsu peering over the corner to take in the security surrounding the door that held their target behind it.

The raven watching, in case any of the hospital staff started heading their way, muttered a quiet: "Stop what?"

"Playing the Mission Impossible theme song in your head,"

Snapping his head over to his partner, he stuttered: "H-How did you-?"

"You're moving like you are,"

Before Gray could try and defend himself, a soft grumble of: "Boys..." whispered through their ear pieces.  _Levi_.

Cobalt eyes watched as a pair of doctors exited the room, discussing amongst themselves as they headed in their direction; turning so he appeared to be reading a chart, he waited until the doctors were out of sight to enact his plan. A gentle tug on the raven's scrubs was his signal to follow, Natsu calmly walked down the corridor towards the body guards before posed the question: "Can we help you?"

"Yes, We're interims with Dr. Wakaba and we were sent to take some blood from the patient for testing" Gray couldn't believe it; the rosette was unnaturally amazing at acting - standing behind his comrade with a blank expression on his face as he held the bag they had swiped from the nurses' station, the raven waited and hoped things would go well.

Scoffing one of the body guards muttered, "Make it quick," before opening the door; both of them stepped inside and the door was shut behind them.

"Do it, Gray" Hard cobalt eyes stared at his partner, who swallowed the lump in his throat; the key detail that wasn't brought to his attention until it was too late - Gray would be the one to kill the corrupt politician.

Grabbing the gun with the silencer he had hid inside the swiped bag, the raven walked over to the unconscious elder as his heart beat loudly in his chest like a jackhammer; cold sweats breaking out all over his body as he lifted the metal machine and aimed it at the decided point of entry - his head. Index finger on the trigger and licking his suddenly dry lips, onyx eyes narrowed as he tried to clear his mind much like he had been told constantly. All he had to do now was squeezed back on the trigger, keeping his arms slightly bent to control the recoil and then slip away with Natsu by his side...

**BEEP! BEEEEEEP! BE-BEEEP!**

Panicking Gray froze in his spot as he felt his body rushed through the doorway before being quickly lead away from the scene; he hadn't been expecting that the noise from the heart monitor would be so deafening. He was barely keeping up with Natsu, who wasn't worried as he simply explained that his friend almost fainted from the blood they had taken.

"Gray! Snap out of it!" Natsu's yell fell on deaf ears as the raven slowly sank to his knees a mile away from the hospital; he couldn't believe it...

He just killed someone...

Him, a former doctor...

Bile rose from his stomach and painted the grassy area beneath him; onyx eyes burned with tears that flowed rapidly down his face - he can't do this...

He was no longer worth living...

Killers don't deserve to live, right...?


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight:** Coping

* * *

 

"How is he?" That was the question Natsu had no answer for; upon shoving the other into the car, the raven had basically shut himself down. Not that everyone didn't already piece together what brought upon this.

Exhaling, the rosette brushed aside Mirajane's question before being stopped by a short blonde that was often mistaken as a teenager; he knew right away what the other was about to say but nodded his head anyways: "I did just as you asked... according to the coroner's report, Hades was already dead when the bullet entered his skull,"

"Thanks Eve," Natsu ripped his arm out of the blonde's grasp before heading back to the bedroom he shared with Gray; the strong odor of alcohol was no surprise, the raven seemed adamant that he didn't deserve to live and Natsu had been less than supportive.

Walking over to the lump on the floor that was his roommate, tan finger reached out to poke the drunken adult out of his slumber; lifeless onyx eyes peered out - the rosette had noticed the change in complexion immediately but thought nothing of it - under very pale eyelids before blinking slowly. Natsu watched as the other made an attempt to sit upright but when it seemed he would simply fall back down, tan arms wrapped around protectively before helping Gray sit up against the nearby wall.

Unsure how to really comfort someone, the rosette simply shifted uncomfortably while debating if he should tell his comrade the truth before asking, "Do you think you deserve to die, Gray?"

A hollow chuckle then: "I-I... ki-killed... s-so-someo-one," the alcohol still very much present in the raven's voice and breath.

"Does that mean I should die?" The rosette could only hope he could break his comrade away from these thoughts; when onyx eyes widened he knew he had done something: "N-NO," grabbing onto Natsu's shoulder, Gray words became ragged: "I-I... me-mean... I-I ju-just..." before his head hung as his words stopped.

"Its hard, isn't it?" Gray's face lifted as the rosette continued: "Living with the burden of killing someone... even if  _they_  didn't deserve to live... it doesn't make it any easier to do this job," inhaling the raven could feel the change in the atmosphere then, "I was pretty young when I first killed someone... it just happened. I was supposed to grab some medical supplies and this person came back... and after a scuffle, I ended up killing him... when he lunged at me and I dodged, the man hit his head hard," pausing for a moment, "thinking back on it, if I had told someone he might have survived..."

Unsure of what to say in response, a hushed: "I-I didn't know..." was all that came out causing a solemn smile to spread across tan features before they whispered, "You're not alone in feeling like shit after something like this... we all have and we all pulled through,"

Something inside Gray seemed to snap back into place as the raven muttered, "So how... how do you cope?"

"I try and think about how many people I've helped because I tainted my hands with some asshole's blood," relaxing as he rubbed the back of his neck, "And when that doesn't work... I take a walk to my favorite place,"

"Favorite... place...?" The alcohol was slowly losing its control over the raven, who removed his arms from the other's shoulder with mild curiosity in his eyes.

He barely knew anything really about Natsu except what he had picked up and what he had learned in passing; the rosette smiled as he patted his comrade's knee before pushing himself off the floor then offering a hand, "Wanna see?"

Pale hand latched on and Gray was hoisted up onto his feet, staggering slightly under his own weight; the rosette didn't move until he was sure that his comrade would be able to handle the trip to his spot. Onyx eyes met cobalt ones as the raven found his balance and was led out of their bedroom; the air outside the room, the Gray noticed was light and bright, with that last word making its appearance in his mind he drew up the hood on his pullover to shield his eyes.

Shortly after, he was led outside the house and into the backyard; a short flashback of his first day here when Natsu had told him that he thought the this place was the most peaceful place to just think. The rosette kept up his pace as he crossed the grassy growth and headed into the massive amount of trees; the raven glanced from side to side to take in the earthy surroundings, Gray had never been back here. The duo continued their trek through the woods and before long, the raven noticed the trees seemed to curve towards them almost like an arch and then-

Onyx eyes shut from the sudden lighting and with his arm raised to shield his eyes, Gray peered past his pale forearm to see a breath-taking sight before him! A vast puddle of clear blue laid surrounded by smooth rocks, big and small. A winding stream leads to and from the pond; upon closer inspection, he saw the plants that littered about the place. Before he could speak, Natsu spoke up: "I found this place after my first mission... I acted much you did and I ran," a hollow chuckle, "and ran until I trip over a overgrown root and found myself here,"

The duo sat down upon two rocks that laid side-by-side near the pond; "It is a really peaceful place,"

A wide grin, "I know, right? Aside from the back porch, this is another amazing place to come and simply forget about work,"

They stayed there, talking about everything and anything, until the sun painted a warm orange sky above them; Gray smiled as they stood up and headed home, where they knew (and smelled) Mirajane's cooking awaited them.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine:** Freetime

* * *

 

Staring out at the vivid blue before him, Gray inhaled the earthy aroma surrounding him in a gentle embrace before tensing to the sound of a branch breaking behind him. Staying silent, he could only come up with one person to find him in such a place beyond all the trees and growth: "Thought I'd find you here," A wide grin was clearly heard in his words as the raven turned to glance over his shoulder at his roommate, Natsu.

The rosette approached him, wearing normal street clothes of a young adult that surprised the other for a moment but pushed that aside when Natsu added with a chuckle, "Saw something that might interest you,"

The way that was said screamed ' _HIDDEN MEANING_ ' to one onyx-eyed adult, who chuckled as his roommate sat down on a rock beside him: "Oh really? After the show I got waking up this morning, what else could there be to show?"

At the upbringing of their morning events the rosette tsk'd, "Not my fault that you woke up when I stepped back into the room," as he fought a losing battle of not grinning.

"Naked," The raven deadpanned.

"I was wearing a towel," The rosette retorted in mocking offense.

"No, you were  _holding_  a towel in front of your body"

"..."

Moments of birds chirping and water running before Gray asked, "So what is it?" getting back to the original point.

With fake hurt, Natsu pouted: "I don't know if I wanna show someone who can't be grateful they got to see such an  _amazing_  sight,"

Turning to face his roommate, the raven bowed slightly muttering: "Yes, Natsu-sama's ass is what  _every_  man dreams of waking up to" in the most monotone voice he could muster without cracking up laughing.

A howl of laughter ripped from both of them before the rosette handed over a folded piece of paper to his comrade, "H... Here," chuckles still evident in his voice. Onyx eyes gave the slip a quick once-over before raising an eyebrow in mild confusion; "So... we're going out?"

"Uh, yeah" His partner replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world before grinning: "C'mon~ let's enjoy this nice day with an all-expenses paid meal!"

Gray sighed before staring at the water; his old life seemed so distant, almost like a dream. He had been living here for quite some time and had noticed a few things:

First that Loki was 'whipped' to drop everything on a dime for this girlfriend (although Lucy never seemed to abuse his affection towards her)

Second that Levi was in love with Gajeel; the raven had accidentally caught a glimpse of the info broker wiping away tears as she stared at the photo of the missing member one night.

Third that he should avoid any area where Lucy, Ultear and Meredy are in one place together - one incident lead to the poor raven getting handcuffed to the rosette until they repeated  _everything_  that those three devil spawns said. And they meant  _everything_.

And finally that all three of those girls might be onto something, onyx eyes glanced over at his oblivious comrade; the former doctor could feel something more than friendship between them but he always pushed it aside with the excuse that it had to be the adrenaline talking. Not his heart. And not his brain. When curious cobalt met dazed onyx, raven hair shifted uncomfortably when its owner realized he had been caught staring at Natsu by said rosette!

Darting his attention anywhere else, Gray pushed himself up onto his feet; "W-Well, l-let's g-get g-going t-then..." mentally cursing for stuttering as he headed for the house with his comrade in suit behind him.

Once inside Natsu took the lead and headed for the garage; climbing into a bright red jeep that appeared well-taken care of, Natsu sat in the driver seat as he pulled car keys from the pockets of his jeans. The raven hadn't thought of the possibility that anyone other than him actually owned their own car! Scolding himself for jumping to an unlikely conclusion; after all, his comrade had mentioned he pretty much grew up on the streets before being taken in by the Organization.

"I guess you already got permission to borrow one of the cars, huh?" Gray muttered as the car pulled off the driveway and his gaze fell on the 'outside world' that he often forgot even existed.

Snorting attracted onyx eyes as Natsu replied, "Actually this is my car," feeling the waves of disbelief, "I'm serious... of course, this baby wasn't all that appealing when I first got him... it was a gift from Gildarts," smiling, "I fixed him up to what he is now~"

Beyond that, the drive was peaceful; a smile played the raven's lips as he simply stared at the window to the slightly blurred scenery. It seemed that they were talking more and more but Gray always enjoyed the content silence that followed next more than anything. Onyx eyes wandered over to his companion; he had never actually seen Natsu in anything that wasn't sweats or various other outfits - never anything  _normal_. The rosette wore slightly loose form-fitting jeans, a white t-shirt hidden beneath a form-fitting grey jacket; shifting uncomfortably in his seat, the raven forced his attention back to looking beyond the window.

Finally after thirty minutes, "We're here," Natsu announced, pulling into a quaint cafe; the two stepped out before stepping inside the cozy atmosphere within.

"Just two?" The waitress behind the counter asked; Natsu called back 'yeah' and soon the two were seated in a booth towards the back. Menus were placed in front of them before the pink-haired waitress introduced herself: "Hello, my name is Chelia~ Can I start you two off with a drink?"

"Raspberry tea for me," The raven spoke as his eyes scanned the menu for something to eat; he didn't want to spend too much on something that was going to leave his body later.

Swiping the laminated papers from his companion, Natsu made his order (and Gray's): "I'll have strawberry lemonade and we'll be doing the two for one deal," handing over a slip of paper.

Pink dusted across the girl's features as she asked, "Did you guys want the chicken or the fish?"

"Is chicken okay?" The rosette turned; obviously wanting Gray to also have a say in their meal. The raven nodded his head as Chelia scribbled down their order and excused herself. Once the girl was out of hearing range, the raven leaned in questioning: "So what's this 'two for one' deal we're getting?"

Cocking his head to the side, Natsu sighed: "Basically according to the intel I got, its two entrees for one price..."

"Hn," Sipping his tea, they chatted about various topics that had nothing to do with their job as they waited for their food to arrive; the atmosphere around them reflecting the playful one that had earlier at their spot.

Laughing, "So wait, Luce really said that... oh god-damn, I gotta Loki when we get back" the rosette couldn't believe his ears if what the raven was saying was true then - He couldn't wait to hold this over to the slightly tsundere blonde's head. Despite the surprise, he could imagine those two settling down with a family and away from the dangers this job brings to each of them. On a side thought, would he find someone to make him want to leave this lifestyle behind?

Grinning, "Yeah... I was surprised as well," Natsu would never really admit it out loud but there was something about his partner's smile that made him feel human again. That he wasn't simply a killer but he could be someone's best friend. Or-

"Alright~ here you two are!" His thoughts cut short when Chelia magically appeared with their food on a tray; with quick 'thank you's they were left again.

The food was beyond amazing; the rosette would have to thank Meredy for the coupon next time he saw her and the best part was that he was able to hang out with Gray outside of missions. And that house. The raven seemed to be enjoying himself that it almost made his breakdown a month prior seem like it happened ages ago. When Chelia came back asking if they wanted dessert, Natsu nicely declined saying they were ready for the check and when Gray went for his wallet - it was instantly shot down.

"No, I'm paying..." The rosette stood his ground; he had dragged the other out, after all - it was only fair.

Sighing, "...now this feels like a date..." Gray breathed out almost inaudible, which thanks to years of training - Natsu heard, much to the raven's dismay if he knew.

Their check came and before his comrade could make a dive for the piece of paper, the rosette swiped it off the table and out of pale hand's reach with a triumph grin. When Gray sat back with his arms crossed, cobalt eyes scanned the slip to find the price; Meredy had said it was a 'deal' but she never mentioned how much it cost.

"That's weird..." Natsu's voice trailed invoking some curiosity to spark inside the raven as he muttered, "what is?" before taking another sip of his drink while the rosette explained, "They charged us as a couple..."

Raspberry tea flew out of Gray's mouth as he choked on his drink; tapping repeatedly on his chest, the raven's coughing settled as he croaked out: "W-What?"

Handing the paper over, "Yeah... see... it says 'couple two-for-one deal' on our receipt,"

Onyx eyes narrowed, "Who told you of this deal?"

"Meredy..." Cocking his head to the side, Natsu felt confused when the raven's head dropped to the table at the mention of their pink-haired comrade; sure the girl was a little strange but she meant well. For the most part.

Groaning, "Natsu... she basically set us up on a date..."

The rosette laughed but internally he was a little embarrassed; he didn't bother asking questions when he was given the coupon from Meredy - she seemed sincere when she handed it over. Natsu wouldn't lie to himself - he had grown fond of his roommate, especially their conversations. Like the one this morning. The playful banter was something he could get used to if it meant Gray would stay by him as his partner.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10:**  The Longest Night (part one)

* * *

 

It was late - that much Gray could deduce as he stared down the empty room that lead into an equally empty hallway. It was dark. And aside from occasional strips of moonlight painting the floor, onyx eyes caught glimmers of light from the room at the very end of the hall. The info broker's room. Levy and Lucy's room.

Drowsiness still evident in his mind, the former doctor dismissed it. Probably just one of girls pulling an all-nighter for an upcoming mission. Heading back to bed, he fell straight back to sleep despite his roommate's muffled snoring. The next morning the raven was woken by the sound of running water - Natsu was taking a shower. Pulling a t-shirt - he had left on the floor last night - over his head, Gray quickly slipped out of the room before the rosette could step out of their shared bathroom. Somehow in the length of a month, he had managed to avoid waking up to naked Natsu strutting out of their bathroom with water sliding down. Lower and lower until-

"Morning Gray..." A stern female voice jumped him out of his embarrassing trance as he turned to face one of the high-ranking assassins of their organization: Erza Scarlet.

The girl, by herself, was tolerable - as long as she wasn't pissed off for whatever reason - but when the scarlet assassin was around either of the following: Lucy, Meredy, Levy or Jellal. She became a whole another person. She was blunt and to-the-point stating the thoughts of the 'boy-love' posse. Speaking of which, why on earth was Jellal part of it anyways?

A gloved hand waved in front of onyx eyes yet again pulling him from his thoughts; "Oh, ah... Mornin' Erza," her gaze remained on him longer than he was comfortable with, "Uh... I think I heard Mira mention something about only having enough strawberries for a few servings... shouldn't you-"

He knew she was already long gone the moment he mentioned her favorite fruit; alone again, the raven sighed rubbing the back of his head to bring life to his sleepy locks of hair.

"Ah, Gray! Is Natsu up yet?" Onyx eyes wandered to the source - Levi, jogging over to him wearing the same clothes she had been wearing yesterday holding a small stack of papers in one hand. Another all-nighter for the young info broker.

Glancing back into his bedroom, Gray yawned: "Yeah... he should be getting out of the shower soon," before he turned his attention onto the petite girl near him. There were definite bags under her brown eyes and her skin seemed paler than usual; curiosity told him, he should just stay and wait to hear what she seemed to want to talk about with his roommate.

As if summoned by the devil himself, Natsu stepped out in his usual workout - sleeveless t-shirt and baggy sweatpants - attire but paused in his steps when he caught sight of Levi.

"Morning," He grinned down at her but when his friendly greeting wasn't returned, his expression became laced with concern: "Everything okay?"

Onyx eyes watched as the petite chest rose with a deep intake of breath before light blue hair tousled with movement as brown eyes swept upwards to meet Natsu's eyes: "I've been digging through Lapointe's finances," holding the paper stack with both hands, "and I think I might have found a clue about Gajeel's-"

"Levi" The rosette's voice was firm and for a moment Gray was surprised it came from his roommate at all; he could see the muscles tensing under tan skin as the other grounded out: "Please. Don't do this to yourself... You're only seeing things the way you want to,"

The paper crinkled in her pale fingers as she lowered her head down, "I'm not delusional..." her voice was barely above a whisper but before either male could push the issue, she ran back towards the info broker's ward.

"Do you really think that was necessary?" The raven asked as he switched his attention from the door to the info broker's ward to Natsu, who merely shrugged in response before mumbling, "Doesn't matter... I don't want her to work herself up on something that isn't based on facts and get hurt in the process" and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

The morning concluded with Erza having eaten  _every_  strawberry Mirajane had bought on her last shopping trip; the afternoon began and ended the same - Natsu taking a trip down to the doctors that were on-call in the medical wing.

"C'mon... its just a little stiff, Yukino" The rosette whined as both Gray and a girl with bobbed powder-blue hair grabbed various things from around the wing.

The raven had been more than welcomed when he stumbled in with the sudden desire to 'catch up' on what was going on in the medical world; he had visited the wing more for his comrade's sake than his own desire to read. Natsu, despite denying every time, had lately been having more and more phantom pains and a little stiffness.

The doctor on-call huffed, "You were probably out training again," turning to face the two, "Haven't you two realized how much you're inflaming the muscle? That's it! I'm telling Makrov to take you off of taking any more missions until you're fully healed!" Both would only admit the other that Yukino could be a bit bi-polar - going from being a good doctor to a scolding parent in a matter of seconds - but they still came to her whenever Natsu was having stiffness.

"Yukino! Don't!" Natsu argued back, much like a child trying to convince their mom to change her mind, before adding quickly: "We haven't even done any training today... that's why we came. When we were about to, the stiffness in my torso showed up"

Sighing, the doctor asked: "Where's the stiffness?" as she walked over and moved her blue-framed glasses from the top of her head to the bridge of her nose.

The raven helped lift his roommate's shirt as tan fingers pointed to the area bothering him - the right side of his lower torso where there was still a visible scar from Gray's make-shift stitching. He could still remember when he first walked over to the wing, returning a book he had borrowed, and overheard the rosette arguing with the doctor about leaving the make-shift stitches in since they were working.

Pale delicate fingers pressed around the area as its owner listened for any strange intake of air from Natsu; upon pressing on a spot to the left of the wound, the rosette did a small but sharp intake of air. Yukino's eyes raised to meet cobalt ones before crossing her arms against her chest: "I still think you should take a month or so off, at the very least. If you keep going like this, you will end up never taking another mission" Her voice was firm, leaving no room for arguing.

"...fine..." The two headed back to their room for the rest of the day talking; one topic, brought up by the raven, raised concern in his mind: "Levi was acting strange this morning..." Gray began, fiddling with the edge of his blanket.

Humming, "True..." silence then, "...hey Gray...? Since Yukino isn't going to allow Gramps to let me go on any mission, could you... would you mind watching out for Levi? You know, she's great on missions... Just take her mind off Gajeel... at least until I can bring him back..."

Gray had never seen his roommate so vulnerable than he did at the moment; pushing himself off his own bed, the raven walked over and sat down on Natsu's before speaking: "I never did ask... what happened to him,"

"He took up an assignment to take down Lapointe and he never returned... months later, a new mission came in to take him down and I grabbed it purely out of revenge until Levi brought up that the person suffering because of that bastard was a father... I never knew a family's love so every mission I take that helps a child, I do my utmost to complete it," Gray listened, taking in every word before responding when it was all out in the open: "And in the end, you were shot and then passed out in front of my car,"

Burying his face in his pillow, a muffled 'yeah' broke through the fluffy prison surrounding Natsu's mouth and it wasn't long after that that the rosette was asleep. Gray lightly chuckled, only his roommate could fall asleep after talking like that, before slipping out of their room and flicking the lights off in the process. It was late - most of the house's inhabitants had gone to their rooms to either sleep or shower. The raven headed downstairs and when he reached the bottom step, he heard noise from the armory. Curiosity piqued, he tiptoed over to the room to see as he peeked inside Levi of all people. She was loading a handheld with a loaded magazine with no problem and on the counter was five more magazines and a few flash grenades. He had only seen her this determined when she was behind a computer screen so on bated breaths, he watched not wanting to disturb her. As she was finishing up with slipping the loaded gun into the holster attached to her leg, the other magazines and grenades in a bag slung around her waist, the raven slipped into another room to avoid being spotted. She briskly walked past him and straight for the garage, unknowingly with Gray following a short distance away. Upon entering the chilled garage, she immediately went up to a black jeep and whispered: "C'mon Lily... its time to bring Gajeel home," as she opened the driver side door.

Silently, Gray approached her and in a gentle voice spoke up: "Where are you going Levi?"

The girl swung, brown eyes wide in surprise before growing defensive: "What does it matter to you? And why are you following me?" and her unspoken question lingered between them. The raven sighed, "Did you really find Gajeel?"

"I'm not delusional!" She barked angrily, clenching her small hands into fist.

Walking around the car, Gray muttered out as he opened the passenger side door: "If so, let me go with you... this way if anything were to happen I can be your back-up," and waited outside it for her answer.

"...fine..." With that the two slipped inside the jeep and headed out, the raven read through the papers the info broker had already placed inside the car as Levi drove to their destination.

Parking in a shaded region, Levi spoke: "I've been watching Lapointe's finances... he's been purchasing quite a bit of sedatives... and a couple months ago, he bought this old building but hasn't done any sort of renovations. He's paid off a few of the housing inspectors that have come over... suspicious right? And that's not all, as of lately Lapointe has been racking up hospital bills from one hospital... Lady Grandine Medical Center," at the mention of the hospital's name, Gray's eyes widened - that was the hospital he used to work for. Did that mean that the person responsible for his termination was working with Lapointe's? Or was it just chance his former work place was involved?

Shaking his head of those questions, the raven asked if there was anything else to which the info broker explained that all the hospital bills are for treatments for bacterial infections that can't be contracted under any normal circumstances.

"Let's go..." Her voice shook slightly before something seemed to dawn on her; Lavi glanced over asking: "Did you bring anything with you?"

Shrugging his shoulders, "Just my phone and knife... don't worry I'm better with a knife," Gray sighed as he slipped out of the jeep; even though that statement was fairly true but it was also true that ever since killing Hades the raven didn't have the stomach to shoot anyone.

The duo headed into the abandoned building, Levi with her gun cocked and ready and Gray with his knife out. Despite almost always being behind the computer screen, the info broker seemed to know what she was doing so that left the raven with focusing on protecting her blind spots. And her. The front of the building was unguarded as was the first room they entered. The hallway was filled with distant voices that lead them to a vast room - concrete floors, bare walls a few large poles that seemed to support the floor above it and a stairwell leading down. Inside the room stood several men, a few carrying guns, talking but even at the edge of the door their voices were still fairly distant.

"...Lapointe..." A soft growl beside the raven shocked him out of watching the group and over to the girl beside him; without another word, Levi burst through the doors and ran towards her target.

With no other option, Gray chased after her - attacking any of the men who raised their guns towards her. Mentally thanking all the training for making him fast enough to protect the info broker, who was moments from shooting her target when she suddenly froze. Pushing off from one of the guards, the raven ran over to her before understanding her hesitation - in the hands of the man, he assumed to be Lapointe, was a photograph of a badly-beaten raven-haired man with tan skin. Metal piercings decorated various spots and it didn't take much for Gray to figure out that the man in the photo was Gajeel.

"I guess its right to assume, you came here to rescue him... too bad though because you're gonna die," Waving his hand, several of the guards aimed their guns at the duo.

Onyx eyes hardened, as he weighted his options for possibly making it out of this alive - or letting Levi escape but somewhere in his thoughts he heard a voice he never expected to hear: "My my, what do we have here"

Gray's eyes darted over to the source, a tall man with dark lips and long raven hair that had a reddish hue to it; "Jose..." the raven muttered under his breath - his former boss stood not far from him.

"And here I heard you died, Gray..." Jose Porla, still wearing his hospital coat, sneered as he eyed his former employee with distaste before laughing: "Oh well, at least now I'll be able to see you die with my own eyes"

As onyx and brown stared down the guns pointed at them, a little bit of static near them broke their attention elsewhere and a muffled voice spoke: "...or... not..." followed by soft clicks.

A few of the guards went down without a sound causing the others near them to look around before their eyes settled on the door where Natsu stood with a sniper gun leaning against the door and handgun stretched out and cocked at them. Taking the distraction, Gray slit the throats of the guards closest to him as Natsu shot the others. Grabbing Levi's wrist, the raven forced her to follow him down the stairwell - with the guards brought down, Jose and Lapointe were of little concern especially since Natsu was still up there. The basement was dimly-lit but unguarded, handing the girl his phone Gray instructed her to call someone if she needed help moving Gajeel.

"What about you?" She asked in a small voice.

Smiling down, he replied: "I'll be making sure Natsu doesn't over-do it up there... we'll be down when we're done taking care of them but call someone when you find him,"

Holding up her gun: "Here take it... You'll need it more than me-" A shot echoing off from the floor above them had the raven grabbing the gun and giving the info broker his phone before running up the steps. Something didn't feel right about that shot. And upon reaching the first floor, that feeling ate away at his insides - standing where he left them was Jose with a firm grasp on Natsu's rosy hair and Lapointe lying on the floor dead.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11:**  The Longest Night (part two)

* * *

 

Standing a few feet from the sight before, Gray wondered how his former boss had gotten an upper-hand on Natsu but as his eyes fell: he saw it. The reason his comrade was at a disadvantage. His torso was bleeding. His bullet wound had opened. And it was all the raven's fault.

"Not so fast," Jose sneered when Gray began walking towards them before shooting once at the ground right in front of the raven.

Onyx eyes swept over the room, taking in the number of armed men that were entering the room and surrounding the three of them. Jose yanked his hand hard sending Natsu toppling onto his face, the ropes that bounded his wrist shamelessly shown before the rosette's head was grasped again and lifted.

Holding the gun his hands up, he aimed at his former boss with sound resolve to end it but the older raven's response was not what he expected it to be: "Heh, once a killer always a killer..."

 _A killer...?_  That's right... Gray was a murderer. He killed Daichi Shinagawa. He killed Purhito Hades in cold blood.

The gun shook in pale hands as guilt and grief flooded his system; slowly the gun lowered and Natsu couldn't bear to allow his comrade to fall again into despair. He had wanted to tell his partner the truth behind his first mission but a part of him couldn't bear to think about Gray going through that again. Killing someone...

"You didn't kill Hades, Gray..." Natsu confessed as he tugged hard against his restraints; the ropes tore into his wrist and stained the threads with red and pink splotches.

Onyx eyes shot over to the rosette: "Y-Yes, I did..." Gray's gun shook between choked sobs as he tried his hardest to focus on the two men before him.

Pulling again at the ropes and person that bounded him, "No... Hades died from... an abscess on his liver... he was already dead... when you pulled the trigger," it was getting harder for Natsu to speak as his captor tightened his grip on the rosy locks and pain erupted, bouncing throughout his skull.

"Wha-at?"

"It's t-true... I had E-eve l-look," Jose tightened his grip "in-nto it..." His head was beginning to feel heavy with pain.

Growing irritated with the conversation, the grip on Natsu was tightened but despite that the rosette kept talking: "Gr-Gray... y-you n-need... t-to sh-shoot-" until he was silenced with an especially sharp tug in the back of his head.

Jose was responsible for Daichi's death, if he had told the raven about the other medicine the child was on then he might have been able to grow up into a teenager. His former boss had been the one to fire and rip away Gray's status as a doctor - no one wanted to hire a man who had been labeled as irresponsible and a killer. Jose worked with Lapointe, who had shot Natsu and taken Gajeel as a hostage. His former boss was the reason, the rosette was bleeding from his side... He can't be allowed to leave this room.

Hard onyx eyes stared down Jose with disgust as he raised the gun back up as his former boss practically used the rosette as a human shield. Inhaling slowly, Gray whispered: "Natsu... I'm sorry," before he pulled back on the trigger.

White pain tore through his tan shoulder and his body fell forward onto the cement floor; blood pooled around his gunshot wound and the next sound he heard was another gunshot before footsteps rushed to his side.

"Y-You... s-shot... m-me..." His normally fiery tone was shaky and weak as he fought to stay conscious over the pain that was bouncing in his body; his old wound ached, his head was throbbing and his shoulder stung. But above all, Natsu felt extremely cold for once in his life.

* * *

There was a burn in her legs, that much she could tell as she ran down what felt like endless halls. She had memorized the blueprints of the abandoned building but that seemed like almost wasted effort. It felt like several hours had passed since she and Gray went separate ways. A smarter part of her mind noted it would easier if more people were down here searching but Levi didn't want to waste any more time. If that photo was anything to go on, Gajeel was still alive somewhere. Turning down a new corridor, she checked another hall for any rooms where he might be. Or had been. She was nearing the end of this hall when she caught a very dim-lit seeping underneath a wooden door. One window guarded with bars had been cut, the petite info broker pulled herself onto her tiptoes and tried peering into the room as she mentally cursed her short stature. Through the bars, she saw where the light was coming from: a gas lantern hung on a metal hook from the opposite wall. Brown eyes did their best to peer down but only saw a dark mass. A dark mass that had just as dark hair. Her heart leap as she backed away from the door before jostling the doorknob. It was locked. She couldn't recall either Lapointe or Jose carrying a key on them. Not that she really wanted to run back to find out. Crouching down, she slipped a hook and a pick from her pants pocket.

"...c'mon..." She whispered as she recalled all the instructions Natsu had once given her when she first learned how to pick locks; Levi couldn't risk messing up.

A click resounded off the walls, brown eyes stared at the lock -had she really done it- before getting back to her feet and pushing the door open. It took her whole weight to make the wooden door budge but when it was finally open, her knees nearly gave away. Hunched over against the wall sat familiar raven hair that belonged to the one and only Gajeel. She rushed to his side, shaky fingers pushing away blood-crusted hair until she found his neck. Her brown eyes pleaded for something as she pressed her fingers gingerly against the once tanned skin. A faint throb beneath the skin did little to calm her own heartbeat. Tears welled at the corners of her eyes as she whispered breathlessly, "I knew it..."

He was alive.

Gajeel was alive.

Her hand moved up to his face, lifting it gently and with much love and affection. Her thumb brushed against faint scars as she spoke: "Gajeel... its me, Levi...  _short-stack_ ," her voice slowly gaining strength with the addition of the nickname he had for her, "Hey, wake up..." Her other hand reaching up to grab his shoulder before shaking his gently.

She wasn't sure what sort of injuries so she did her best not to grab or shake too hard but when he still hadn't roused, fear quickly sank in.

"Gajeel! Hey! C'mon y-you g-gotta w-wake up, 'k-kay? Its me, Levi" She shook a little harder but still no response from the comrade she had literally spent hours pouring over data. She wasn't about to let that go to waste! She lifted one of her pale hands against his throat to double-check that she really wasn't too late -  _Please don't be too late_!

A slow pulse had replaced the faint throb - he was really alive; relief washed over her as she somehow managed to dial a series of numbers into Gray's cellphone and after a couple of rings, there was an answer: "Loki! Please you gotta help me... I'm at the-"

"...is there an entrance near you?" His voice interrupted her and it was a few moments before she responded: "There's a window... but do you even know where I'm at?"

A low chuckle, "For someone so smart, you weren't very smart about covering your tracks... Lucy found out what you were doing and when she went to tell Natsu, he saw that Gray was also missing. It didn't take much to piece together that you two had gone alone," there was silence but Levi could pick up the faint sound of footsteps through the phone, "Which side of the building?" Loki finally asked.

Pausing to go through her steps she took to get here, "I'm on the east side of the building... in one of the rooms in the basement,"

There was a rap against the window and suddenly, "Found you~" outside of the dirty window was Loki crouched down with a small smile on his face.

"Stand back and cover him," He ordered before aiming his gun at the glass; the petite info broker did her best to cover the unconscious raven but the tearing sensation in her shoulder told her she just barely did.

When she pulled away, she brushed the glass that had landed on him carefully before noticing Loki had stretched his hand through the window. Levi wiggled her way underneath their missing member's shoulder before standing up. Or at least she tried but the difference in weight had her legs shaking. There was a sound of glass breaking again before the weight seemed lighter, brown eyes flew over to the reason and saw Hibiki and Ren had slipped inside the room. Ren had placed himself under Gajeel's other shoulder while Hibiki was holding rope by the window. The duo slowly carried Gajeel over to the window; Hibiki took her place as Levi was pulled up, despite her arguments.

Once back outside, she saw it wasn't just them that came - Lucy ran over and hugged her whispering how glad she was that Gajeel was finally found; Yukino, Ultear and Meredy were not far from her fellow info broker. She smiled relieved, if Yukino was here then Gajeel would get treatment immediately. She glanced back to see the three males had just finished pulling the tanned raven from the dim-lit room but the moonlight did little to hide just what he had gone through. Lacerations decorated his tan skin, especially around his wrists and ankles - Levi had to cover her mouth to prevent herself from breaking down completely. She felt her fellow info broker hug her, providing little comfort even with the repeated whispered chant that ' _he's gonna be okay_ ' in her ear.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve:**  With Morning, There's Hope

* * *

 

The morning brought anything but light to Yukino's office, both onyx and brown eyes stared exhausted down at the two unconscious males; despite the snow-capped nurse's repeated effort of telling both of them that the rosette and raven would make a full recovery with enough rest, neither Gray nor Levy left. Occasionally, human needs would kick in forcing one of them to leave but never both at the same time. They had both moved the small sofa, that normally was used for those waiting for Yukino's help, and sat back-to-back to one another.

"You know I'm grateful in a way..." He could feel the petite info broker shift behind him as he continued on, "If it wasn't for Natsu getting shot and collapsing in front of my car, I would still be living that life... Not that it was bad but looking back on it, I'm surprised I was able to do it day-in and day-out," As onyx eyes watched the rise and fall of the white blanket on top of the rosette's bandaged chest, more words came out: "That day he dragged me here, he told me that I wouldn't regret living this way of life... He's done so much for me... He's trained with me... He taught me how to fight... Hell, he was the one who pulled me back up when I wanted to die but please don't tell him I said all of this... He'd likely hold it over my head," A small smile played on his lips, the raven reminded himself that his comrade would make it through this - Yukino had said before she left them that he was suffering from fatigue, some blood loss and shock brought on by the gunshot wound to his shoulder and that he should be fine with rest.

It did little to ease his anxiety about his comrade lying beneath the horrible white sheets instead of lecturing him on what he did wrong last night. Gray wasn't really sure why he confessed all that; Levy was likely too busy focusing on Gajeel's recovery to pay him any mind but surprisingly she mirrored his with her own.

"Gajeel... He," pausing before letting out a low sigh, "when we first met, we didn't see eye-to-eye... actually we used to fight and argue a lot," chuckling softly at the memory of their past selves getting into debates over every thing, "but one night, we were on a mission... things went south and I ended up a hostage... and Gajeel rescued me. He took a bullet for me... of course it ended up only grazing him but... after that, he changed. He was still pretty stubborn but it was obvious he meant well," despite the small smile that had found its way onto her face, tears tore past her defenses: "We had a fight right before his last mission... nothing out of the ordinary, we argued over something stupid and I wanted to apologize when he returned but," the rest of her words were muffled by sobs.

The raven pushed on: "...but he never came back,"

He could feel the girl nod her head behind him: "I-I used... to tell him... for every mission... to come back safely," Her voice slowly gaining strength again as she finished her own confession, "That was my biggest regret. I told myself that as long as he came back, I wouldn't mind if he stayed mad at me for that fight... I just wanted him home safe and sound. You wouldn't believe the amount of data I poured over, trying to find any evidence... proof that he was waiting for me to find him..." Gray nodded, remembering Natsu muttering under his breath about the young info broker skipping meals and sleep on occasion.

"I don't even think he knows about my feelings..." Levy finished, resting her head against Gray's back as she pulled the blanket, Yukino had lent her, up to her chin. She didn't want to fall asleep, despite the waves of exhaustion that kept sweeping over her - fatigue-ridden brown eyes watched the slow rise and fall of the scarred tan chest before her. Yukino had mentioned that Gajeel was suffering from malnutrition, dehydration and fatigue; no doubt from whatever Lapointe's men put him through.

"Why couldn't I find you sooner, idiot" She whispered as her body shifted away from the raven's while attempting to find a more comfortable position; her head resting against the back of the couch, she continued watching the rise and fall of his chest until low snores filled the space. Glancing over, the raven had fallen asleep and with a small smile, she went back to watching before sleep welcomed her as well.

* * *

The sound of soft snores stirred Gray as he stretched, giving Natsu a once-over but upon hearing some rustling behind him he paused and glanced over. Sitting up, looking slightly dazed, was the tan adult that the raven only really knew by name. Onyx eyes lowering, he saw Levy curled up against the back of the couch and remembering their agreement to let the other know if one of them woke up while either of them wasn't paying attention/out of the room, Gray reached over to nudge the petite girl awake but was halted when one of Gajeel's hands reached out and stopped him.

Shaking his head once before he spoke: "...let short-stack sleep for a while... she looks bad," and despite the bitterness in his voice, there was mounds of concern underneath it.

With not much else to do, the raven makes a conversation attempt: "So, what branch are you a part of?" but it fell on deaf ears; Gajeel was more focused on solemnly staring down at the petite girl. The raven could see the waves of regret that he was sure matched Levy's regrets about their previous meeting, turning his attention back to the rosette he gave the two some privacy.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen:**  Regrets & Decisions

* * *

 

Stepping inside Yukino's office, the last thing Gray expected to see was Natsu and Gajeel bandaged from their torso up; it had been less than twelve hours since the former doctor left them the night before. Exhausted onyx eyes bore down at the bandaged duo before he sighed in defeat: "How the hell did this happen?"

Both males went on to make muffled noise that were silenced when Yukino appeared from her personal office, negative aura following behind her as she exited and stopped beside the bandaged duo: "They thought it would be a good idea to start arguing over stupid things and I've had enough of it," her voice cut through the silence before she glared down at the two men.

Raising a raven eyebrow, "Arguing over what?" The raven asked, wondering what they could possibly argue over; Gajeel had been missing in action for as long as Gray had known the rosette and the rest of the group - had the two bandaged males had a fight or something like Levy and Gajeel before his disappearance?

"Gajeel's return," Yukino replied blankly as she folded her arms across her chest and rolled her eyes.

A flicker of an unrecognizable emotion surged through the raven's body; Gajeel had been back for roughly a week and he had never seen the rosette so fired up like this before. Just recalling how Natsu had promised the young info broker that he'd bring the older male back time after time made Gray's body feel heavy. Why would they be fighting about his return? Wasn't everyone happy about that? Levy sure was though he had heard from Loki that the young info broker was given the cold shoulder every time she came to check up on him.

Natsu ripped the bandages covering his mouth, "The stupid iron freak over here refuses to see Levy," before sending a glare towards the other bandaged male, who turned his attention away from the wandering gazes that all turned in his direction all at once.

The rosette folded his arms over his chest, frowning as he turned his attention to the window that lead to the backyard of the hideout. Gray watched as anger, regret, sadness and so many more emotions passed through the cobalt eyes of the rosette before their owner spoke again: "She deserves to see you. Do you have any idea how much time she poured into finding you? How much it broke her everyday when she came up empty?" Natsu growled as he narrowed his eyes and shifted his attention back to the older raven, "Dammit Gajeel, think about her for once would ya!" At this point, the rosette shot up from his seat ignoring the pain sparking throughout his body then stormed out of the medical wing.

Silence filled the room as Natsu's words sunk in; Gray watched as Gajeel fell back onto the bed before rolling over bringing the white blanket over his head, signalling he was finished with the conversation. Onyx eyes hadn't miss the sight of the older raven struggling to keep his cool -clenching his teeth as he rolled over. Natsu was right. Gajeel did owe Levy a chance to apologize but remembering the regret from the first morning, he refused to push the issue. And he wasn't going to get involved for either of their sake.

He didn't really know much about the older raven nor did he know much about the relationship between Levy or Gajeel; instead he gave a short nod to Yukino before leaving the medical wing and headed for backyard.

* * *

With one flick the coin was airborne then moments later it landed back in his palm, the weight of the coin was minuscule: "Its strange how something so small can change my life completely,"

Before he was Gray Fullbuster, a mundane office worker who only went from home to work to an occasional shopping trip. Before he was a former doctor tormented by the mistake he made costing one kid's life to be ripped away. Now he was Gray Fullbuster, a dead man walking and yet living life better than he ever imagined. Now he was a sign of hope that corrupt businessmen could be taken down a notch so that people like his former self were tormented with impossible choices.

Master had made note that Gray was to be placed in a branch permanently by the end of the day, the choice was his for a few hours before Gramps would simply place him. He could start over and join the medical wing with Yukino, helping his comrade who were injured and recovering but the thought of possibly screwing up made him bite back the bile that threatened to build up in his throat.

On the other hand, staying in the assassination branch with Natsu could work for him but with his former boss dead - he really had no reason to kill anyone else. Maybe he should talk to the rosette - surely he had already gotten back at the person who screwed him over. He breathed out a light chuckle as he put the coin in the pocket of his jeans; unaware the door behind him had opened and closed.

A familiar groan, "So this is where you've run off to," before Natsu appeared and leaned on the wooden railing of the porch and for a while nothing was said until-

"I'm thinking of switching into the medical division," Gray broke the silence with a comment that made the rosette turn his head in surprise; mild anger flushed his body as thoughts of not seeing the raven flooded his mind.

Lowering his face, he frowned: "So then I won't be seeing you again..."

"Huh? What're you talking about? We're still roommate, aren't we?"

"For  _now_  but soon you're gonna want to move closer to the hospital wing..."

Scoffing, "What the hell are you talking about? I-" but before he could finish a tan fist smashed down on the wooden rail in front of them; Natsu's fist, still clenched, rested against the wood.

"...forget it..." The rosette mumbled -Gray could hear the unspoken hurt behind those two words- before turning on his heels and walking back into the house.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen:** Apologies & Forgiveness

* * *

 

_Previously..._

"I'm thinking of switching into the medical division," Gray broke the silence with a comment that made the rosette turn his head in surprise; mild anger flushed his body as thoughts of not seeing the raven flooded his mind.

Lowering his face, he frowned: "So then I won't be seeing you again..."

"Huh? What're you talking about? We're still roommate, aren't we?"

"For  _now_  but soon you're gonna want to move closer to the hospital wing..."

Scoffing, "What the hell are you talking about? I-" but before he could finish a tan fist smashed down on the wooden rail in front of them; Natsu's fist, still clenched, rested against the wood.

"...forget it..." The rosette mumbled -Gray could hear the unspoken hurt behind those two words- before turning on his heels and walking back into the house.

* * *

It was strange. A week had passed and nothing. Every night the raven found himself alone in their shared bedroom regardless of how late he stayed up and when he woke up, Natsu's bed appeared slept in but no rosette. It was obvious that Natsu was coming in late while he was sleeping and leaving before the raven even had a chance to wake up.

A heavy sigh filled in the air of the room; what was the raven going to do? Was there anything he could do? The duo hadn't spoken since the rosette walked away that day and it seemed like everyone in the house knew about it. There wasn't any teasing from Lucy or Loki about them. He never thought he'd actually miss the pointless harassment. How had that gotten started in the first place...

_It was Gray's second day, and honestly he felt awkward around so many new faces; it also didn't help that he was still pretty cautious around Natsu. The guy had knocked him out yesterday, after all! Onyx eyes constantly glanced at the rosette for any hint that the other might lash out at him again unfortunately this caught the playful gaze of a blonde dressed in a white coat, short denim shorts and a pink tank top (as well as bring up_ _a topic that would always be brought up): "Ya know~ I didn't think you swung that way too, Gray"_

_"What?" The raven jolted from his current observation of the rosette, who stood beside him either oblivious to the blonde's comment or openly ignoring her completely._

_"It is Gray, right? I mean, that's what Levy told me..."_

_Brown eyes stared waiting for an answer, which after a moment's debate of who the hell Levy was he responded: "Uh... Y-Yeah,"_

_Light pink flooded her cheeks as a gentle squeal that she covered in mere seconds with her hands, "I knew it~ And you're sharing a room with Natsu too... The scenes I can imagin-Ow!"_

_A tan hand smacking the side of her head silenced her as she held the spot tenderly before glaring over at the culprit: Natsu stood annoyed with his hand raised but the silence between them didn't last long. The blonde clenched her fist before pushing her face closer to the rosette's: "Why'd you do that?!"_

_"Because you're an idiot, Luce"_

_"It's Lucy and who ya callin' an idiot?" She swung her fist and even Gray could tell she meant to cause no harm to Natsu, who caught it playful before teasing her._

A cool breeze shook Gray from his memories and reminded him that he was standing outside at the place where the two would do their morning spar; the wooden rail had been fixed more than anyone thought possible. Most of the house's occupants had given up on lecturing either of them about destroying the rail...

_"WHO DESTROYED THE PORCH?!" A redhead stormed inside the dining room, once lively had gone dead-silent the moment she entered; onyx eyes were beyond shocked that Natsu had even grown unnaturally quiet but Gray didn't want to leave the girl's question unanswered._

_Raising himself from his seat, earning the wide stares from those around him, the raven cleared his throat and replied: "Sorry, it's my fault... me and Natsu were-" a sharp jab in his stomach interrupted him._

_Glancing down he saw cobalt eyes wide with fear and that was the moment, he learned first-hand not to confess to the redhead about destroying the house._

He absentmindedly rubbed the side of his face, just thinking about the memory of meeting Erza brought the pain from the punch back to the nerves on his face. Both of them were forced to not only fix the part of the railing they broke but also whatever else that either Erza or Mirajane could name that needed fixing. The only reason they were able to stop the two demonic girls was because the rosette faked his injury acting up...

_The two walked up the stairs after Gray's first lesson with shooting was over, the rosette was giving the other advice so he could improve but nothing that the raven found real specific._

_"Come on... can't you give me anything-wait, are you okay?" Worry replaced irritation as onyx eyes caught the stiff movement beside him; despite the obvious answer, Natsu dismissed the other with a wave before climbing up the stairs ahead of them._

_Gray followed, watching his roommate's movements; he saw how the rosette favored his injured side but with the lack of lighting there was no way to tell if it had opened up. They finished their trek up the staircase and the short distance to their bedroom and flipping on the switch, onyx eyes were blinded for a moment but once his eyes adjusted he just barely caught sight of spots of blood that were covered by a t-shirt._

_"Wait-" He began as he reached out, pale fingers slipping under the shirt gently feeling the injury and when a sharp inhale brushed past his ear he glared up at the rosette: "You opened your gunshot... you really are a stubborn idiot..." He groaned as he removed his fingers and motioned for Natsu to remove his shirt, which the other did with a sigh._

_Getting to work, Gray wasted no time in removing the old bandaging with new fresh gauze and bandaging; this was the first time, Natsu ever saw anyone work so efficiently - the raven had removed the old, cleaned the area and wrapped a new one in record time._

_"Wow, you work fast..." The rosette muttered unexpectedly, getting an embarrassed warmth flooding both male's faces before receiving a soft 'thanks' afterwards._

He made the right choice, right? Telling Gramps that he wanted to be in the medical field with Yukino was the right thing to do, right? He could help so many who were risking their lives to right the wrongs of so many corrupt people out there. He could help Natsu. He would stay as his roommate and he would help him. He wanted to repay the debt - Natsu had saved him when he was ready to drink himself into an oblivion, Natsu had shown him his secret place, Natsu had been the one to take the bullet when it should have been Gray. The rosette should have been the one to go with Levy to find Gajeel not Gray.

Another cool breeze blew past him and a shiver ran up his spine; heading inside, he saw rosy locks leaving the kitchen. Numbed by the cool air, the raven followed without another thought - Natsu was heading upstairs by the time Gray exited the kitchen. Following quietly but quickly, he had to skid to a stop when the rosette suddenly stopped at the top of the stairs. His back to the raven and Gray was sure he was busted but cobalt eyes never turned to face him instead they stared on.

Taking a few steps closer, onyx eyes peered over to see Levy and Gajeel standing in the lounge; biting his tongue, the raven didn't want to make their presence known but when Natsu suddenly swung around and the first time in a week they were face-to-face. Swinging back around Natsu made a dash for their room but the raven was not far behind so when he tried to shut the door, Gray had wedged his foot in the opening keeping the door from completely shutting.

"Natsu, let me in... neither of us wants to ruin whatever is going on over there..." The raven pushed his weight against the door as he hissed and when the weight on the other side didn't seem to be forcing the door shut, Gray removed his own weight and pushed the door open.

The rosette moved out of the way; Gray had known it to be a slightly cheap trick -Natsu cared for Levy like a little sister- but he needed to talk with the other. Shutting the door softly, onyx eyes swept over to the rosette who had his back to him again; "Goddammit, Natsu!" Before he knew it, his pale hand had stretched out and grabbed the back of the rosette's shirt, effectively pulling it back and sending the other tumbling backwards.

Cobalt eyes barely had a chance to shoot the raven a murderous glare before onyx eyes froze over the boiling anger inside him; Gray, with all the crap his roommate had put him through filling his mind, tightened his hand into a fist before throwing the first punch successfully hitting Natsu square in the jaw.

"Try actually looking at me! All week long, you've ignore me..." He growled as the rosette recovered from the hit and got into his own fighting stance, ready for an opening.

"Look, when I said-" Gray began but when when a tan fist flew right at him, he tapped the fist with his arm successfully redirecting the hit by a little.

Retracting his fist, "I said don't worry about it," Natsu spat out, throwing another punch but curved the angle of it a little so it came from below and headed up.

Bending out of its reach, "No, hear me out..." the raven muttered, focused more on dodging his roommate's hit but when he was met by silence he continued: "Natsu... when I said that I was thinking of switching into the-"

A tan fist came at him and with his focus switched onto explaining himself, he staggered back until the edge of his bed met the back of his leg; "don't say it," Natsu growled.

"...switching... uh... fields," He narrowly dodged the rosette's next set of hits but Gray continued: "It was only a thought... nothing more. I hadn't actually made any decision..."

"Wait... you hadn't?" Natsu's guard dropped as did his fist a little and the raven did the same.

Scratching the back of his head, "Actually to be honest, I was slightly relieved that you showed up back then when you did despite your injury," sighing, "I was going to ask you if you ever found the person who made your life hell,"

When it seemed like nothing more was going to be said, the raven plopped back onto his bed with his eyes closed but when he felt the mattress shift he cracked open one eye to see the rosette sitting as well. Stretching his legs out in front of him, Natsu muttered: "I didn't... in my case, my dad disappeared when I was seven and it wasn't until I was close to being sixteen," falling back so he was lying on his back, "that I was able to find information on him..."

"What happened?"

"He died... and according to his D.O.D, I was only eight..."

"I'm sorry"

Sitting back up, Natsu hunched over asking in a low voice: "So where did you ask to be placed? I'm sure you already gave your answer to Gramps, right?"

"I did..."

"..."

"I chose to be one of the organization's doctors..."

"I see..."

"... _but_  I convinced him to let me take a few assassination missions on every now and then,"

* * *

They stood, alone in the lounge; with a little help from Yukino, Lucy and Loki, Levy found herself face-to-face somewhat with the object of her affection. And her regret. Gajeel had his body slightly turned, a headband keeping his hair out of his face, bandaged from head-to-toe; it felt obvious to the petite info broker that he probably wasn't over their last fight.

Regardless, she would do it: "Gajeel... I'm sorry for saying such horrible things... for bringing up your past mistakes... I knew then that you had changed and I've regretted it every day since then..." She began, taking hesitate steps towards him occasionally before stopping far enough away that she could reach out and grab him.

When silence was her only response, she continued on: "I-I'm s-sorry... I-I wa-was t-to an-angry-y to say," sniffling, "co-come ho-home sa-safely..." tears streamed down her face as her biggest regret filled the air between them but when she was met by silence again she spoke: "even if you don't forgive me-"

"I never said I wouldn't forgive you, short-stack" Gajeel's words were soft, almost inaudible but they were loud enough to stop Levy's tears almost entirely; brown eyes met saddened coal ones and her tears almost started back up again...

"...even after all this time, you still won't call me by my name" Levy huffed as she wiped her eyes on her sleeve, a small smile playing her lips at the familiarity of the topic.

Vein throbbed slightly in his forehead, "Oi, I wasn't done yet, short-stack!" He growled under his breath earning the petite info broker's attention before he added in a low voice: "Thank you for never giving up on me, Levy"

New tears formed at the corners of wide brown eyes but before her body could be overtaken by waves of multiple emotions: relief, happiness, affection, sadness making her petite body tremble - she felt a firm surface pressed snugly against her. Tears pausing in their downward trip before Levy realized what had just transpired and turning into that firmness.

"Thank you for finally coming home..." She whispered into his chest earning a light squeeze from him response; he was back and she beyond glad for just that.

* * *

It's amazing what can tie you down to a certain fate;

A fight between close friends

A few coins in a simple transaction

A sideways glance between strangers

Anything can lead your life into what you're fated to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Csilla: This chapter (especially the gray x natsu part) ended up entirely differently than I had planned ;w; -hands out tissues- I DID NOT MEAN FOR IT TO BE SO EMOTIONAL D:
> 
> This is it for Illusions~ Thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, or will read this in the future! I loved reading each review. I loved seeing notifications of new followers, favoriters, and reviewers - they gave me the strength to work through my writer's block :D
> 
> &8tracks also helped (mainly my "&then there's regret" fanmix)  
> -
> 
> Original Published Date: December 17, 2012 thru November 02, 2014


End file.
